Throwing Out The Television

Last

summer I went to California to visit my grandpa. He lives in a little house with no TV and tons of books. Entering his house was like entering a different world, a world full of calmness and cigar smoke. The atmosphere of his house was relaxing and welcoming. I had never really entered someones house and got the feeling that I received in his. There has been homes I have entered that are calming and make you feel welcomed, don't get me wrong but not quite like his. My grandpa is a wise man, who believes in turning to the land in order to find peace and love in your own heart. He believes in discovering parts of the world that make you feel whole, parts that are untouched and not tarnished by man kind. He told us on one of the hikes we took with him while we were there "I don't need to get high to be high, this is my high, nature is my high you don't need drugs for that" I never realized how much I am truly inspired by him until that trip. How much I really enjoy and admire his lifestyle, it is so simple and not surrounded by material things. I told my step mom how much I want my house to be like his when I grow up, how I want only books and no TV. I want to live my grandpas life because he seems so much at peace, he understands the world in ways I cannot describe. I feel like if we were all like him we could bring so much to the world and to each other. He doesn't need a TV because all it is filled with is garbage about shooting each other and winning elections. It doesn't influence you to do good, it doesn't influence you to change. Instead of watching TV my grandpa explores the land he lives on, he takes his neighbor who is suffering from cancer to her weekly dialysis appointments, he cooks dinner with his other neighbor down the street. That is something I want to do, someone I want to be like.I have decided that this is the perfect time for me to start my lifestyle over, I am moving therefore its time to redecorate. When I tell people I will no longer have a TV they look at me like I am crazy and say "What?! Why?!" and I say for peace of my own mind. I do not learn anything from movies or TV shows its just something to preoccupy my mind for a moment,a way to put my life on pause. I am ready for board games, reading books and exploring what my neighborhood has to offer me. You only have one life to live, why should you waste it in front of a screen learning about all the bad in the world? Why would you waste it sitting when you could be inspiring? Thank you to my grandpa for being such a great humble human being and for teaching me that life is short and you should explore and learn while you can.